Last week, the class was on Marriage and Family.
And I sat in the back and listened while our partners and my husband stood in front of these amazing men and women, Tanzanian church leaders who are hungry for God’s Word. And they discussed and argued and wrestled together and learned from each other as they looked at Scripture and compared it to culture.
Does a man own his wife?
Is there room in Scripture for a bride price?
Is the wife’s submission in Scripture the same as the wife’s obedience in African culture?
What does it mean to love your wife?
How does a man lead his children and yet love them?
And so, so, so much more.
I learned so much from listening to them wrestle. I am humbled by their desire to let God’s Word transform culture, and I wonder if I always am willing to do the same.
But my favorite part was when Gil stood tall and told them that he would have married me even if he had known ahead of time that I would not bear him children. Since, in Africa, infertility is usually grounds for divorce. And then we both shared from the depths of our heart about adoption, and how there are 3 million orphans in Tanzania and only a couple dozen that get adopted each year. And we shared our vision for the Tanzanian church to take the lead in embracing infertile couples and adoption and orphan care.
It was the one time all week that they spontaneously started applauding.
Yes. This is why we are here.
Tamie
Hi Amy
I've been loving these posts about Reach Tanzania and was about to ask you a stack of questions about it but I've just found the fantastic new website!
We're in Dodoma atm but always keen to network…
Cheers
Amy Medina
Tamie–we would love to network. Can you contact me through Facebook (Amy Medina) or send me a message with your email address by clicking on the envelope icon at the bottom of the post?
Chuck
Hi good questions. How do you handle
Polygamy if they have that problem in their culture? Read recent article on albino African children and how they are mistreated and even attacked and have body parts chopped off to be sold (was in Tanzania) the government warehouses the children to protect them the article said. Have u discussed that withbur students? Thanks
Amy Medina
Hi Chuck,
Polygamy is definitely present in Tanzania, though mostly among Muslims and/or in villages away from the cities. Though even if they don't practice polygamy, they have ways of keeping multiple partners, kind of like successive divorces in the west. It's a tricky one to deal with, but if a polygamist comes to Christ, usually they are encouraged to continue caring for their wives, but teach the next generation monogamy.
And yes–there are huge safety problems for albinos in Tanzania. Witchcraft is common here and many believe that albinos' body parts can be used in rituals. It's evil personified, and one of the areas where the gospel needs to change culture. Everyone here is already aware of the problem, so we didn't need to discuss it, but we did use it as an example of how every person has value in God's eyes, whether albino, disabled, or in embryo form….something even our own culture needs to recognize!
Herding Grasshoppers
Oh, Amy, happy tears 😀 It's always a fine line to walk, as a foreigner, to talk about transforming culture. Thanking God for these men's desire to use God's Word as the standard. Well done 😀
Julie
Carley
Smiles. All smiles! 🙂
Anonymous
Hi Amy,
Normally, I just lurk around your blog in silence; I love reading about how God works in and through your family, in the good times, hard times, fun times. Even when I'm trying to spend less time on the internet, I make exception to check up on your blog. So often God uses it to cheer or challenge me (and others, I'm sure), but I don't usually comment.
But today, I just had to! This post, so short and simple, feels like one I've been waiting for- almost a summary of everything you and Gil seem to be 'all about.' I just had to burst forward with some rather unabashed worship (while stirring my spaghetti sauce on the stove!) after reading it. Our God alone can work such depth of change in individual hearts and cultures, and he is worthy of all praise and honor!!! So, thank you for sharing, not only this post, but all the others!
I will be continually praying for your precious family, your work both at home and in your community. Glory to our God!
Sincerely,
Ashley Dunham (I was Ashley Plett when in school with you at RVA.)
Amy Medina
Wow, Ashley, what an encouragement. Thank you! Yes–glory to our God!
And Carley…thanks for your contribution to all we learned about African marriage. 🙂
Unknown
love it!